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4.4. Enterprise characteristics as a system

The enterprise as a system has a number of characteristics:

  1. it has a complex character - it brings together a unitary number of factors between which multiple connections are established giving the enterprise functionality;
  2. it has a dynamic character - the enterprise constantly adapts its activity under the impulse of technical and scientific progress, being receptive to influences from the inside and from the outside;
  3. it has a probabilistic character - because the whole of the enterprise is subjected to random factors disturbing its balance;
  4. it has stability - with its own material and financial means, permanent staff of execution and management, the enterprise is able to maintain its operation within certain limits;
  5. it has a self-regulating character - it allows the enterprise to organize its own activity, i.e. to self-manage, to self-finance, to integrate into the national economy as a whole;
  6. it has a purpose - it results in the achievement of the established objectives, through the manufacture of some products or the execution of some works / services, which implies the completeness of the component elements and the partial objectives of the unit.

The system approach allows the economist to understand exactly the need for the management, the coordination of the parts (subsystems), so that each of them contributes to the realization of the whole system, which is the enterprise. As we have seen, links are established between the subsystems, connections that lead to the "organization" of the parties in a whole. Most of the time, this organization appears as a hierarchical structure that assures the circulation of the information needed to manage the entire system.

True-False Question

Answer with true or false:

Question 1

1. The enterprise has a probabilistic character because it brings together a whole number of factors between which multiple connections are established giving the enterprise functionality.

Question 2

2. The enterprise has a dynamic character because it constantly adapts its activity under the impetus of technical and scientific progress, being receptive to influences inside and outside.

Question 3

3. The enterprise has a purpose because it organizes its own activity.

Question 4

4. The enterprise has stability because it is capable of maintaining its operation within certain limits.